Sewell Prescott "Sue" Moody (c. 1834 – November 4, 1875) was a

lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks

and Yankee trader from

Hartland, Maine Hartland is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,705 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled in approximately 1800, and was incorporated as Warrentown or Warrenton on February 17, 1820. It was ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States, the son of Joshua Moody and Amy Kendall Bowley. With his brother Thomas, Moody arrived in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada in about 1861, initially engaging in mining investment and trading. In 1862 he established a business to build British Columbia's first sizeable steam-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, at New Westminster. Moody moved to the

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

in 1865, eventually acquiring a

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

water-powered sawmill, and established the first non-native settlement in the area, in what is now North Vancouver. Initially known as "Moody's Mills", in 1872 it was formally named Moodyville. Under a firm but paternalistic hand, he provided the settlement with a library and reading room, religious services, a

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

and a school, each being the first on Burrard Inlet, and also funded the extension of the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

service from New Westminster. At the same time, he forbade gambling and the sale of alcohol. In July 1869, Moody married Janet Watson (1849-1901) and they had two children, Florence and Sewell Prescott Jr. Moody's lumber business was successful, supplying markets in Great Britain and around the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...

, and adding a larger steam-powered mill in 1868. This mill was burned in December 1873, but replaced with another, powered by the steam engines from retired warship . Moody died on November 4, 1875, in the sinking of the passenger steamer SS ''Pacific'' following a collision off

Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, a ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Notes

References

1830s births 1875 deaths American emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Pre-Confederation British Columbia people 19th-century Canadian businesspeople People from Somerset County, Maine People lost at sea Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Year of birth unknown {{Canada-business-bio-stub